


Ten Minutes Ago

by RyanTheFreewoodGuy



Category: Rooster Teeth/Achievement Hunter RPF
Genre: Fluff, M/M, Rodgers & Hammerstein's 1997 Cinderella, Songfic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-02-24
Updated: 2015-02-24
Packaged: 2018-03-14 22:45:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,462
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3428315
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RyanTheFreewoodGuy/pseuds/RyanTheFreewoodGuy
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Ryan goes to an improv class to hopefully improve his performance for an upcoming musical. A goofy British kid with a passion for the 1997 version of Cinderella shows up fashionably late. Gay musical fluff ensues.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Ten Minutes Ago

**Author's Note:**

> Based on the musical. The duet can be found at the following link, ya know, if you wanna sing along and/or imagine the boys singing it. Obviously the original parts would've been adapted for a bass/tenor duet instead of a tenor/soprano duet, but, I'm sure you can imagine it. I sure can. 
> 
> Anyways, link here: http://youtu.be/LOGjE57lKBg?t=1m53s
> 
> Enjoy!! ♥

Jeez. It certainly was a lot colder in here than he remembered, but he attributed that to the fact that he was thirty minutes early to this improv workshop and no one else had shown up yet. Maybe once the other kids started to arrive and warm up, the chill would let up a little. Ryan stared down at his fingers in his lap, and started mentally figuring out the harmonies to the song coursing through his headphones.

When he looked up again, six or seven students had begun filtering in through the auditorium doors. The stage lights had been turned on sometime in the last twenty-five minutes and some dude with a ridiculous moustache, probably the teacher of this whole shindig, was cutting up pieces of paper and putting them in a hat.

Ryan’s director is the one who decided that a lesson in improvisation would do him some good. Over the past month, Ryan had been told over and over to loosen up and to take liberties with his lines. He’s been trying so hard to put more emotion into his big solo but no matter what he thinks about, he can’t find the passion he’s looking for. _Maybe Burnie’s right_ , he sighed. _Maybe this is the inspiration I need_.

The teacher clapped his hands twice and summoned all of the students up onto the stage. After hastily arranging themselves in a circle, twenty-one people shifted uncomfortably, unwilling to be the first to speak up despite their usual dramatic mannerisms.

“Alright, mother fuckers. I’m Geoff. I’m obviously the leader of this shit. It looks like we’re still missing someone, which will make this first exercise awkward as dicks, but hopefully the last guy will show up sometime soo—“

Suddenly, the clang of metal against brick reverberated throughout the auditorium as the door swung open, revealing a slender man, panting and leaning slightly with one hand on his knee, the other braced against the violently-opened door.

“Ah, there’s the prick right now. I see you finally decided to join us, asshole. Now get up here.”

Each step brought the newcomer closer to the stage and Ryan could begin to make out more defining features. And, though he swore to himself that he would never admit it, each step also made his heart beat a little bit faster. The new guy grinned self-consciously while looking for a spot to squeeze in. His eyes passed over Ryan, who quickly coughed into his elbow to hide the rising blush in his cheeks, widened almost imperceptibly, and soon squinted from the upward force of his growing smile. He slinked up next to Ryan and quietly leaned over.

“How ya doin’, mate?” the man murmured, lips curling, words rounded by a hushed British accent. Ryan could only manage a friendly nod and a smile before Geoff’s creaky voice resumed.

“Now that we’re an even number, everyone’s gonna grab names out of this hat and partner up. If you draw the name of someone who already has a partner, just fuckin’ grab another one. Each pair has ten minutes to incorporate yourselves into any movie scene from the 90’s. I’m gonna go sit in that chair over there in the back and yell at you fucks when time is up. Go do something or something. Ugh, I wish I had a god damn drink…” Geoff trails off while stalking off to the back of the auditorium.

Ryan instinctively walked forward and took the first slip of paper out of the hat.

_Gavin Free_

“Uhh… Gavin? Gavin Free?” Ryan croaked, mouth suddenly dry. He spun around the circle, waiting for someone to take a step forward. He blinked several times as the kid who just ran through the door honest to God squawked in surprise. Ryan allowed himself to smirk as the kid slowly toed toward the centre of the circle. After releasing the breath he didn’t know he was holding, Ryan felt the world suddenly whir back to life around him, more students picking partners and furiously beginning to plan their scenes. Five warm fingers wrapped around his upper arm and dragged him toward the back corner of the stage to where a small wooden chair was haphazardly resting.

“Why are we going over here, dude? We’re not going to be able to hear Geoff back here!” Ryan huffed after freeing himself from the young Brit skipping across the stage.

“No, no, no, listen! I’m sitting in a chair and I’m in an improv class!” Gavin blurted out. He cleared his throat twice and then in a perfectly clear tenor began singing, “ _In my own little corner, in my own little chair, I can be whatever I want to be!_ ” He suddenly burst into laughter, the most brilliant smile coming to rest on his lightly tanned face. Ryan felt himself drawn to the guy, staring curiously at his face while carefully licking his own lips, frantically scanning the thoughts racing through his mind to find the most suitable response.

“Rodgers and Hammerstein’s 1997 Cinderella? That’s your go-to? Did they even air that in Britain?”

“Of course, you git!” the Brit squealed between giggles, and Ryan swears that every star could be found in Gavin’s eyes. _How is it possible for someone to be so fucking beautiful and yet act like a five-year-old?_ Ryan shook the thought from his mind, internally wincing at the fact that he just thought of this strange man as _beautiful_. “I watched it all the time growing up! I mean, when I wasn’t playing video games or filming things in slow motion with my friend Dan, of course. It’s such a lovely movie and the music is absolutely top! Have you seen it? Wait, no, that’s a bloody stupid question, of course you have. You recognised the song immediately…”

“No, yeah, I watched it my fair share, too. I’m Ryan, by the way.”

“Oh! That’s tippy top!” Gavin exclaimed at the same time that his phone beeped. “Oh, what’s this?”

One moment, Gavin was sitting ( _adorably_ ) in his chair and the next, he was covering his mouth, sprinting out the exit towards the bathroom, throwing his phone to the ground with a startling _clunk_. Ryan shouted Gavin’s name after him but got no reply, so he cautiously strode over to the phone to see what the hell could’ve had that kind of effect on the poor lad. The screen was still lit up, displaying a few picture messages from a “Micoo”. But the pictures weren’t anything startling or upsetting so Ryan was at a loss for what to think. He continued to stare down at the phone, wondering how a grainy picture of a… piece of bread next to a… _is that— is that a bowl of water?_ could send a man running for the nearest restroom. A curly-headed guy’s face appeared in some of the later pictures, and he seemed to be dipping the bread into the bowl. Seven words appeared at the end of the text chain:

From Micoo: **here’s some wet bread for my boi.**

_What the fuck?_ Ryan ran a hand through his golden hair, attempting to smooth the gentle swoop he had long since perfected. He locked the phone, placing it back where it fell, sitting down in the chair Gavin had just vacated and busied himself with his nails to avoid the inquisitive looks from the other students.

After a couple minutes, timid footsteps approached him from behind. “I’m bloody sorry, Rye. Michael was just playing around and he knows that I can’t stand thinking about w--” The colour abruptly drained from Gavin’s face and he looked like he was about to immediately empty his stomach at Ryan’s feet.

Ryan let one of his eyebrows make his way up his forehead. Gavin’s pale face suddenly flushed, red dusting his thin face, making his hazel eyes shine even brighter. He breathed out a weak laugh and carded his fingers through his tousled locks, screwing up the carefree bedhead that somehow still looked like it took hours to style. His hand then trailed down his face, rubbing his eyes and over his nose. His nose was huge, as Ryan was sure the boy had probably heard his entire life, but it was surprisingly fitting on his face. Ryan decided that he wanted to memorise everything about this moment, every one of Gavin’s coy smiles, every one of Gavin’s bashful peeks through his soft eyelashes.

Geoff’s voice cracked to life, exaggerating the rises and falls of his speech. “Alright, assholes. Time’s up. I hope you’ve all got something good for me because I’m bored as dicks. Gavin, since you were late, you and your partner are up first. Don’t fuck up.”

Gavin started swearing, dragging Ryan from his silent reverie. “Bullocking bullocks! I wasted all our bloody time faffing about and now we’re gonna suck knobs!”

Ryan chuckled at Gavin’s… unique word choice but let it slide. Gavin offered a trembling hand to help Ryan out of the chair. “I barely just met you, Gav. I don’t know if I’m ready for any knob sucking just yet, especially with this audience. Unless you’re into that…” Another bird-like wheeze tore from Gavin’s lip as Ryan ended his teasing with a practiced wink, knowing that his dazzling blue eyes would sparkle exactly the way he liked under the warm stage lights. “Seriously, though. Don’t worry about it, Gavin,” Ryan continued, cocking his brow again at the loud _harumf_ that slipped from the Brit’s lips, allowing his smirk to grow. “I’ve got an idea. Just go stand at the top of that staircase and follow me and we’ll be fine.”

With a swift nod, Gavin assumed his place atop the stage’s tallest staircase. He glanced nervously at Ryan but for some odd reason trusted him completely. The guy was built well, something Gavin noticed immediately, and those brilliant blue eyes made Gavin melt in a way he hadn’t experienced in a very, very long time.

Geoff coughed and made a waving motion to tell the two to get on with whatever the fuck it was they had planned.

Ryan locked eyes with Gavin, drew in a deep breath, and began to gracefully ascend the staircase. He presented a single, outstretched hand while the other remained behind his back. Slowly, charmingly, he bent his upper body, bowing before Gavin, who had since placed his significantly more slender hand on top of Ryan’s broad palm.

Gavin was still staring into Ryan’s eyes, equally terrified and thrilled for what was about to happen, when Ryan opened his mouth and allowed his smooth bass to fill the auditorium.

“ _Ten minutes ago, I saw you. I looked up when you came through the door. My head started reeling. You gave me the feeling the room had no ceiling or floor_.” Ryan pulled Gavin’s lithe body to his own, wrapping a steady arm around his slender waist. Gavin’s free hand quickly found its place on Ryan’s shoulder, grabbing desperately when he was effortlessly lifted off the floor and spun around.

“ _Ten minutes ago, I met you, and we murmured our ‘how-do-you-do’s_.” They elegantly descended the staircase and began waltzing to the sweet melody rolling off of Ryan’s tongue. “ _I wanted to ring out the bells and fling out my arms and to sing out the news: I have found him! He’s an angel with the dust of the stars in his eyes!_ ” Gavin’s blush deepened as Ryan continued on through the song. He was lost in the moment, in the mischievous twinkle in Ryan’s eyes, and the warmth radiating through his body from every point they were touching. He wanted nothing more than to kiss the man in front of him who was producing the most beautiful sounds he’d heard since starting his adventures in theatre but knew he couldn’t because kissing him would mean silencing the music that was making his pulse pound in his ears.

“ _I like it so well that for all I can tell I may never come down again. I may never come down to Earth again.”_

And somehow Gavin just _knew_. He knew not only every word of the song and his cue (a fortunate but slightly embarrassing by-product of watching this musical a million times) but also that the man he was currently dancing with was the one he wanted to be with. _This is so bloody Disney, god damn it!_ So he responded the only way he knew how. “ _Ten minutes ago, I met you, and we murmured our ‘how-do-you-do’s_...”

They reached the end of the song, harmonising perfectly despite never having a single run-through together. Gavin would’ve said he was left speechless if it weren’t for the tune spilling freely from his lips. And as suddenly as it had begun, it was over. Ryan stilled at the last note, bowed his head toward Gavin again, and released the note to relish in the silence that had fallen over the other students sitting in the audience.

Gavin was out of breath, not from exertion for once, but because Ryan was too handsome, too talented, too warm, too close, and most of all too _real_. He couldn’t quite read Ryan’s eyes to even begin to try to understand what was racing through his head, but he realised he didn’t care. This was one of the best moments in his life, and he was determined to let Ryan see how much it had affected him. Before he could change his mind, he closed his eyes, rose to his tiptoes, grabbed Ryan’s collar, and feverishly pressed his lips against Ryan’s. He felt Ryan’s warm, lightly-chapped lips gently curve upwards and then eagerly reciprocate, a deep hum rumbling through his chest.

As they finally pulled apart, they remembered that there were still twenty-one pairs of eyes watching them. The pair sheepishly turned towards the hushed audience, eyes never leaving each other’s faces, hands never unclasping, and took a deep bow. Geoff was the first to clap, standing and quickly adding teasing remarks, yelling about how he had “fuckin’ called it, man!” and he “knew they would be gay as dicks!” The rest of the students immediately started cheering along, adding their own playful heckling but ultimately showering them in praise. When the roaring applause died down, Geoff quickly set about ordering the next set of partners up onto the stage to perform.

As Gavin and Ryan walked down the final set of stairs between the stage and the audience, Ryan leaned over to the Brit, soft lips bushing against his earlobe. Gavin’s breath caught in his throat, and he choked loudly when Ryan roughly whispered, “I hope you don’t have to leave by midnight, Cinderella, because I have quite a few plans for us tonight…”

**Author's Note:**

> Ahhh! This was my first fic and I thought of it while rockin' out to Ten Minutes Ago in the shower. Naturally I harnessed the usefulness of my hypomanic episode to stay up and write it.


End file.
